1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to electronic devices having a smart card therein and, more particularly, to a handheld electronic device that facilitates the assembly and/or disassembly of a smart card.
2. Background Information
Numerous types of handheld electronic devices are known. Examples of such handheld electronic devices include, for instance, personal data assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, two-way pagers, cellular telephones, and the like. Many handheld electronic devices also feature wireless communication capability, although many such handheld electronic devices are stand-alone devices that are functional without communication with other devices.
Such handheld electronic devices are generally intended to be portable, and thus are of a relatively compact configuration in which keys and other input structures often perform multiple functions under certain circumstances or may otherwise have multiple aspects or features assigned thereto. With advances in technology, handheld electronic devices are built to have progressively smaller form factors yet have progressively greater numbers of applications and features resident thereon.
Many handheld electronic devices incorporate smart cards therein. The smart card may contain electronic memory and possibly an embedded integrated circuit (IC). One type of smart card is a subscriber identity module (SIM) card. A SIM card may be used, for example, in a digital or cellular wireless communication device to encrypt voice and data transmissions. The SIM card may also store data about the device user so that a digital or cellular network can identify and authenticate the user when the network is accessed. Additionally, the SIM card may be used to store the user's personal settings (such as phone numbers, display settings, ring tone settings, etc.).
Many handheld electronic devices are designed such that the SIM card can be removed by a user. Thus, multiple SIM cards can be swapped into a single handheld electronic device and/or a single SIM card can be swapped between multiple handheld electronic devices. For example, a user may employ a single handheld electronic device for both business and personal communication. Accordingly, a user can assemble (i.e., insert) a first SIM card containing the user's business settings and/or data into the handheld electronic device when conducting a business transaction (e.g., a phone call). After finishing the business transaction, the user can disassemble (i.e., remove) the first SIM card and assemble a second SIM card containing the user's personal settings and/or data into the handheld electronic device before conducting a personal transaction.
Due the reduced size of handheld electronic devices and SIM cards, however, assembly and disassembly of the SIM cards can be problematic. During assembly, for example, a user may not be able to properly align the SIM card within the handheld electronic device's SIM card holder frame thus making proper seating of the SIM card difficult if not impossible. During disassembly, a user may not be able to easily grasp the SIM card after it has been unseated from the SIM card holder frame. A user may be forced to flip over the handheld electronic device so that the SIM card falls away from the device, which increases the risk that the SIM card will be dropped and damaged.
Thus, a need exists for a handheld electronic device that facilitates the assembly and/or disassembly of a smart card.